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Posts Categorized: Cyber Security

Two cybersecurity experts hacked into its Wharf 7 office in Sydney, Australia, through Google’s building management system (BMS). “Once you understand how the systems work, it is very simple.” The vulnerable systems were found on Shodan, a search engine that lists devices connected to the internet. Source: BBC Technology Date: April 28th, 2016 Link: http://www.bbc.com/news/technology-35746649 Discussion 1) If… Read more »

The US Supreme Court has approved a rule change that could allow law enforcement to remotely search computers around the world. Previously, magistrate judges could order searches only within the jurisdiction of their court, often limited to a few counties. The US Department of Justice (DoJ) said the change was necessary to modernise the law… Read more »

This month the US government is launching its first-ever bug bounty programme – a 20-day scheme for cybersecurity savvy citizens to have a go at finding flaws in the Department of Defense’s public websites before the illegal hackers do. There is a $150,000 (£106,000) pot for rewarding the finders of significant bugs. Source: BBC Technology Date: April… Read more »

Adobe has released an emergency update to its Flash Player after security researchers discovered a bug that allows attackers to take over and then crash users’ machines. Adobe didn’t say how many users had been affected by the attacks, but Flash Player runs on more than 1 billion connected desktops worldwide. Source: CNN Date: April 10th, 2016 Link… Read more »

The hackers group Anonymous isn’t doing anything new by hacking Islamic extremist websites. A mysterious figure known as “The Jester” has been at it for five years. Jester has single-handedly taken down dozens of websites that, he deems, support jihadist propaganda and recruitment efforts. He stopped counting at 179. Source: CNN Money Date: April 1,… Read more »

“I found out just how severely compromised my home network was in a very creepy fashion. I was on the phone when the web-connected camera sitting on the window sill next to me started moving. The lens crept round until it pointed right at me. I knew that the attackers were on the other end… Read more »

When we share pictures of our kids on Flickr, we probably don’t expect to see them turn up as faces on coffee mugs for sale on website Koppie-Koppie. Using Twitter (TWTR, Tech30) to comment on politics wasn’t supposed to land us in jail, as is happening in Turkey. Having a mobile phone with a SIM card wasn’t… Read more »

A Los Angeles hospital paid a nearly $17,000 ransom to hackers who breached and disabled its computer network, the hospital said in a statement Wednesday. Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center paid the ransom of 40 bitcoins, which is currently worth $16,664, in order to restore the computer system that was infiltrated on Feb. 5. The hackers… Read more »

Using an obscure law, written in 1789 — the All Writs Act — the US government has ordered Apple to place a back door into its iOS software so the FBI can decrypt information on an iPhone used by one of the San Bernardino shooters. Source: Business Insider Date: February 19th, 2016 Link: http://www.businessinsider.com/john-mcafee-ill-decrypt-san-bernardino-phone-for-free-2016-2 Discussion 1) The article starts… Read more »

CNN Tech conducts interviews with hackers to learn more about what motivates them. Source: CNN Tech Date: January 18th, 2016 Link to video: http://money.cnn.com/technology/superhero-hackers/confessions-of-a-hacktivist/index.html?iid=ob_lockedrail_bottomlarge&iid=obnetwork Discussion 1) In the video one hacker is asked why he thinks it is ok to break the law to do what he does. His response: “If we have to break the law… Read more »